Castle Panic is a fantastic game that everyone can enjoy. It’s designed so well that it’s a really fun game even with only two people or solo, a claim that not all games can make even if their boxes do. After watching videos of people playing it and purchasing the game for myself, it doesn’t get old and the feeling of excitement is contagious. After telling a friend I had bought it, he looked up the rules and could not wait to play it. After getting a group together to play and beating it, we were all eager to play again.

The premise is really simple, a cooperative tower defense board game. You and your friends protect 6 towers from invading Trolls, Orcs, and Goblins by using Swordsmen, Knights, Heroes, and Archers. The theme is a timeless one (although there is another version based on the hit game Munchkin). The mechanics are so simple that adults will be able to pick it up after one or two rounds and kids won’t take much longer making it a perfect family game that adults will enjoy. Fireside Games is kind enough to even have recommendations for how to speed up play or make it a little easier if you’re feeling disheartened.

Cooperative games not your style? Well there are also rules for two variants of the game that are a bit more competitive. In the first, it plays exactly the same as normal, but you keep the monsters you kill so at the end of the game you can score points based on how many and what type. The other competitive version pits one player against the others as the Overlord of the monsters. The Overlord has a little bit more control over the monsters to make it more interesting for them and the defenders of the castle.

Tower defense games on your phone/computer are very addictive but you always play alone. Castle Panic takes the fun of those games and brings it to the real world so you can experience it with your friends.

This game is so easy for people to learn, versatile, and reasonably priced that there’s no reason not to choose this game for your next game night. Although it’s easy to learn, all it takes is one draw of a Giant Boulder to turn that close victory into a haunting defeat. If you're looking to pick it up...get it right here!